For service providers, such as taxi cabs or taxi services, there may be an intermediary agency. Intermediary agencies leverage the gap between customers and service providers. Once an intermediary agency receives a service request from a customer, the agency may forward the service request to related service providers. The service providers may decide whether to accept or not accept the customer's request. For example, if there are multiple service providers that accept a particular customer request, the intermediary agency needs to decide which service provider to use. Typically, the service providers will not respond at the same time, and the intermediary agency will use the service provider that responds first. The service provider that responds first, however, may not be the best provider.
As an example, in recent years, mobile applications for taxi services have gained popularity. When a customer needs a taxi, the customer can initiate a mobile application and make a service request. The wireless enabled (e.g., GPS enabled) mobile phone can automatically acquire the location of the customer and send the request to nearby taxi drivers. The taxi drivers can receive the request by making a response to the passenger. Such mobile applications allow for convenient calling of taxis. The passengers no longer need to wait along the street to hail taxis.
These mobile applications may assign request and service orders by a first-response-first-get rule. Under the first-response-first-get rule, the first taxi driver who makes the first response is assigned the service order. However, the taxi driver who first responded may not be the nearest taxi to the passenger. For example, there may be another available taxi that is nearer to customer. Although this taxi may better serve the customer, it is not assigned the service order since its driver was not the first to respond. This situation results in the customer having to wait a longer time than necessary for a taxi.
From the foregoing discussion, it is desirable to provide an intermediary agency which reduces average waiting time of customers.